European Politics

Back in May 2015, I wrote a post comparing Scandinavia and the US. Since then, that post has been viewed over 10,000 times, making it the most-read on this site; however, I feel it is time to update it. A lot has changed since then- the Paris Agreement was signed, the Sustainable Development Goals went into effect, and Donald Trump became President of the United States.

I also want to enlarge the geographical comparison from Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) to the Nordics (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.) I’ve kept many of the original indicators and have added some as well.

As I mentioned in the 2015 post, “the list of indicators is not exhaustive and does not give a complete picture of life in these countries.” That said, these do give us a good idea of a government’s priorities and the extent to which a government uses its wealth to take care of its people and the world. Don’t get me wrong, people living in the US have a pretty good standard of living; however, given its wealth, the American government should do a much better job of providing for the general welfare, protecting the environment, and helping others. In this sense, I think we can look to the Nordics for examples of how we can improve.

To learn more about the five Nordic countries, start by visiting their embassy websites:

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One of the classes I teach is AP Comparative Government and Politics; so, every May the students take the AP test on what they’ve learned throughout the year. This leaves us with three weeks after the test until the end of the school year, meaning I have to find something engaging and educational, but not too intense, for my students. This year I tried something new- a unit on the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden).

IndicatorsOne of the topics we discuss during the year is indicators because they help us learn about a government’s values and priorities. The textbook we use focuses on four broad categories- 1) measuring wealth, 2) measuring inequality and poverty, 3) the Human Development Index (HDI), and 4) happiness- as such, we looked for a variety of related indicators and included the US just to see how we stack up against the Nordics. (*Note: The first five after the HDI rank are all found on the HDI website)

Government and Policies
Similar to most teachers, I try to make the topics we discuss in class interesting and come alive. One way I’ve done that is through Skype. In the past we’ve talked with Žygimantas Pavilionis, the former ambassador for Lithuania to the US; Carl Skau, Ambassador to the Security Council and Spokesperson for Sweden’s Mission to the UN; and Chris Kendall and Jon Worth, experts/analysts on both Brexit and European Union. These experiences are always valuable because the students get to learn from someone who knows way more about the topic than I do and who is not me (as much as the students love seeing my face every day and hearing my voice, they benefit from a “change in scenery”).

One thing that has really impressed me about the Nordic ambassadors is they hold Twitter Q+A sessions (#AskNordicAmbs) on a variety of topics (the most recent one was LGBTQ+ rights). In that spirit, I reached out to all five embassies via Twitter (and email) seeing if the respective ambassadors or their staff would be interested in Skyping with my students. As a result, I was able to set up sessions with four of the five embassies:

All four were very informative and gracious in answering my students’ questions. Besides basic information, they all made sure to discuss the two focus areas of sustainability and gender equality.

Protecting the environment and sustainability are quite important to the Nordic way of life. In particular, it was a point of pride for two people to mention their countries had achieved economic growth while simultaneously lowering GHG emissions. Additionally, Amb. Aas discussed the use of battery powered ferries and even airplanes to combat climate change, as well as the emphasis on protecting the oceans.

When it comes to gender equality, one important reason for their success is their respective social welfare systems. Subsidized daycare. Free education. Paid parental leave (including mandatory leave for fathers). Universal healthcare. The list goes on and on. All of these services help to empower women and girls and give them the same opportunities as men and boys.

My only regret from this part of the unit is that we had a mere forty-five minutes to talk with each of them.

CultureAs much as I wanted students to learn a bit of the languages, I was unable to set anything up with people from the university to come and help us. I guess I’ll just have to be more persistent next year.

To get a taste of the culture of the Nordics, I had students create an itinerary for a week-long trip to their respective countries. They then had to present their travel guide to the class. The trip had to include include visits that emphasized the following:

Culture (art, music, language, etc.)

Food

Nature

Innovation

Sustainability

It also had include:

A lot of pictures

Accommodation (where are visitors going to stay?)

Transportation (how are visitors going to go from one place to the next?)

The total cost of the trip

The results were fantastic. Some groups looked for dates to coincide with festivals or other celebrations. Others also took advantage of the bicycle-friendly infrastructure and well-established public transportation. They were also able to make time for trips to picturesque parks and other outdoor areas. Finally, as to be expected, there were a few museum visits to learn about the Vikings.

One thing I would like to add for next year is movies or tv shows. I had time to show only one episode of one of my favorite shows on Netflix, “Occupied,” which is set in Norway. If anybody reads this and has recommendations, please leave a response below.

ConclusionThe students seemed to get a lot out of the unit. It illustrated the values and priorities of other governments (other than the ones we studied during the year), and it got students thinking about what they want to see from our government here. Many of them also seemed quite keen to visit the Nordics (or at least one of the countries); in fact, one student asked about immigration policy. As for me, I have already made it a goal to visit as many of the Nordics as possible and to continue teaching my students about them.

If you have any ideas for next year’s unit on the Nordics, please leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading.

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Yesterday, ambassadors from the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) to the US held a “Twitter Town Hall” using the hashtag, #AskNordicAmbs to discuss their policies on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Questions from users included topics such as education, foreign policy, the gender pay gap, parental leave, and political participation. Just to give you a general idea of where the countries stand in terms of gender equality, here are the top 20 from the World Economic Forum’s 2018 Gender Gap Report. (Note: The US is ranked 51st out of 149)

After the “Town Hall” was over, I thought it would be useful to share information about gender equality in the countries in one place. The information is not comprehensive; instead, it provides more of an introduction and general knowledge.

DenmarkAct on Gender Equality, 2000
– “The purpose of this Act is to promote gender equality, including equal integration, equal influence and Gender Equality in all functions in society on the basis of women’s and men’s equal status. The purpose of the Act is also to counteract direct and indirect discrimination on the ground of gender and to counteract sexual harassment.”

Income and Gender Equality in Denmark
– “Women in Denmark generally work outside the home and pursue careers while raising a family, assisted by the country’s generous parental leave and tax-subsidised daycare.”

Finland: Pioneer in Gender Equality
– “Finland was the first country to grant full political rights to women in 1906. For more than 100 years women have had active roles in working life and decision making.”

Maternity, Paternity, and Parental Leave
– “Under the Employment Contracts Act, an employee is entitled to a period of leave during which he or she can receive a maternity, special maternity, paternity or parental allowance. Maternity leave is 105 week days.”

Ministry of Social Affairs and Health: Gender Equality
– “The MSAH plays a key role in promoting gender equality by preparing legislation, monitoring the situation of gender equality nationwide, coordinating the development of activities on gender equality and promoting the implementation of the objectives of the government’s equality policy.”

Maternity/Paternity Leave and Parental Leave
– “The parents of a child are entitled to paid leave at childbirth, when adopting a child and when becoming a permanent foster parent. They receive holiday allowance or childbirth allowance, depending on their situation in the labour market.”

Gender Equality in Practice: Equal opportunities for women and men
– “In this White Paper, the Government will address challenges to achieving equality between women and men. The Government will focus its efforts on five areas in which equality still faces formidable challenges…These areas are childhood and education, working life, health, business and industry, and protection against violence.”

Women, Peace, and Security, 2019-2022
– “Norway will have a more systematic focus on women, peace and security in our efforts to support the implementation of peace agreements, strengthen the gender perspective in international operations and missions, and increase our efforts for women and girls in our humanitarian work.”

Feminist Foreign Policy
– “Equality between women and men is a fundamental aim of Swedish foreign policy. Ensuring that women and girls can enjoy their fundamental human rights is both an obligation within the framework of our international commitments, and a prerequisite for reaching Sweden’s broader foreign policy goals on peace, and security and sustainable development.”

Gender Equality in Sweden
– “Gender equality is one of the cornerstones of Swedish society. The aim of Sweden’s gender equality policies is to ensure that everyone enjoys the same opportunities, rights and obligations in all areas of life.”

Government Policy: Gender Equality
– “Gender equality is equality between women and men, who should have the same opportunities to shape society and their own lives.This area includes issues such as power, influence, finances, education, work and physical integrity.”

ConclusionWhile each country still has work to do in regards to gender equality and women’s empowerment, it’s pretty easy to see why the Nordic countries continually rank high among the best countries to be a woman. American policymakers and elected officials would do well to look to the Nordic countries for inspiration.

Finally, if you happen to know of a link that should be added, please leave a comment.

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Since his inauguration, President Trump has made it clear that American foreign policy will be based on the idea of “America first.” What that looks like exactly is unclear, given the sometimes contradictory messages from various administration officials. What we do know, however, is that America’s role as a global leader has now diminished so much that US foreign policy is an example of how NOT to approach global issues. This is especially evident in a number of areas, including the UN and development assistance, NATO, and climate change.

The UN and Development Assistance
President Trump’s FY2018 budget “proposes that the Department of State examine options to: (a) reduce the levels of international organizations’ budgets, (b) reduce U.S. assessment rates, and/or (c) not pay U.S. assessments in full.” (p. 71 of Major Savings and Reforms: Budget of the U.S. Government“) This would lead to an overall reduction of $786 million for international organizations contributions.

Additionally, in January 2017, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), introduced H.R. 193- American Sovereignty Restoration Act, which called for the US to withdraw from the UN. While the bill most likely will not become a law, it does illustrate that some members of Congress are taking the “America first” mentality to a whole new level.

If the US does not fulfill its responsibilities with the UN, then it falls upon Europe to fill the void. On May 17, 2017, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres spoke at the European Parliament and said that “A strong and united Europe is an absolutely fundamental pillar of a strong and effective United Nations.” This is especially important given the White House’s current attitude.

When it comes to official development assistance (ODA), the US has consistently fallen short of the target of .7% of GNI. In 2016, the US spent .18% of GNI on ODA, placing it eighth worst among OECD countries; however, it was number one in overall spending with $33.59 billion. Imagine how much good could have been done had the US met the .7% target. Unfortunately, the outlook is not promising, as President Trump’s budget would eliminate $2.5 billion in ODA (p. 67 of Major Savings and Reforms).

Even though the US fell short, six of our European allies met or exceeded the .7% target, with Norway leading the way at 1.11%. For those six countries, the total amount adds up to $54.65 billion, well above the US amount. The irony here is that while President Trump has chastised our NATO allies for not spending 2% of GDP on defense, the US has not met the target for ODA.

NATO
As for NATO, President Trump spoke in Brussels on May 25, 2017, at the unveiling of the Article 5 and Berlin Wall memorials. In his remarks, the President pretty much scolded our NATO allies:

“The NATO of the future must include a great focus on terrorism and immigration, as well as threats from Russia and on NATO’s eastern and southern borders. These grave security concerns are the same reason that I have been very, very direct with Secretary Stoltenberg and members of the Alliance in saying that NATO members must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations, for 23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they’re supposed to be paying for their defense.

This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States. And many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years and not paying in those past years. Over the last eight years, the United States spent more on defense than all other NATO countries combined. If all NATO members had spent just 2 percent of their GDP on defense last year, we would have had another $119 billion for our collective defense and for the financing of additional NATO reserves.

We should recognize that with these chronic underpayments and growing threats, even 2 percent of GDP is insufficient to close the gaps in modernizing, readiness, and the size of forces. We have to make up for the many years lost. Two percent is the bare minimum for confronting today’s very real and very vicious threats. If NATO countries made their full and complete contributions, then NATO would be even stronger than it is today, especially from the threat of terrorism.”

The picture below sums up the response by the other NATO leaders in attendance.

If that wasn’t enough, Trump also pushed the prime minister of Montengro out of the way during the meeting.

A few days after the meeting, Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, said, “The times in which we could completely rely on others are over to a certain extent. That is what I experienced in the last few days… That is why I can only say: We Europeans must really take our fate into our own hands.”

After the trip, Press Secretary Sean Spicer remarked that “the President is acting to strengthen alliances, to form new partnerships, and to rebuild America’s standing in the world.” The reality, of course, is that threatening to cut funds to the UN and alienating allies weakens alliances and demolishes America’s standing in the world.

Climate Change
President Trump and the White House also have an abysmal record on climate change. According to the White House website, “President Trump is committed to eliminating harmful and unnecessary policies such as the Climate Action Plan and the Waters of the U.S. rule.” His budget calls “to eliminate funding in 2018 related to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and its two precursor Climate Investment Funds (CIFs)” (p. 75 of Major Savings and Reforms). Furthermore, the budget reduces funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by 31.4% down to $5.7 billion (p. 42 of Budget of the U.S. Government: A New Foundation for American Greatness). Additionally, the President has made it clear he is no fan of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate. As this piece is being written, it is expected Trump will announce the U.S. is withdrawing from the deal.

Across the Atlantic, however, our European allies are committed to fighting climate change. At a recent UNFCCC conference, Miguel Arias Cañete, the EU Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, said, “We came here to Bonn to advance our work on the rules and instruments to implement the Paris Agreement. We leave Bonn with steadfast progress in many areas. And while much work still lies ahead of us, the cooperative talks and the tangible results show once again the unwavering determination of all of us to turn our commitments into real action.” Quite the opposite from President Trump. The EU has also adopted a 2020 Climate & Energy Package and a 2030 Climate & Energy Framework.

Conclusion
President Trump’s “America First” foreign policy has left a vacuum of global leadership that could potentially be filled by the EU. This is a perfect opportunity for bodies like the European External Action Service and EuropeAid to step up and show the world what European cooperation and coordination can accomplish. For the UN to succeed, and for progress to be made on the Sustainable Development Goals (one of which is climate action), Europe is our only hope.

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As I was going through my RSS feed this morning, I came across this article from Deutsche Welle on Germany’s Basic Law. As I read through it, the first thing that struck me was the fact that the very first article in Germany’s constitution discusses human dignity. This led me to take a closer look at the Grundgesetz, and after further reading, I decided to make a lesson out of it for my class on U.S. government and politics. We had already studied the purposes of constitutions in general and the US Constitution earlier this semester, so I wanted to compare the two constitutions.

Students noticed a number of differences, among them: 1) Germany put basic rights first, whereas the US put them as amendments; 2) Germany’s constitution is much more in depth than than the US’ (Germany has 141 articles, the US has 7); 3) Germany has an article about the flag, the US does not; 4) Germany has “compulsory military and alternative civilian service,” whereas the US military is volunteer. We also discussed Germany’s electoral system, even though it’s not explicitly described in the Basic Law. Out of all these ideas, however, we spent the most time discussing Article 1.1 of the Basic Law- “Human dignity shall be inviolable. To respect and protect it shall be the duty of all state authority.” The US constitution has something similar in the Preamble with, “promote the general Welfare.”

We started first by talking about dignity and what that meant. After that, we looked into the extent to which the governments of both countries fulfilled the idea of human dignity and general welfare. Since my student charity, VAHSAid, just held an event this weekend to raise awareness of child poverty and food insecurity, we looked for child poverty rates in both countries. According to the OECD, the latest rate for Germany is 9.8%, and for the US it’s 20.5%.

After all was said and done, a couple of student observations stood out to me: 1) “Germany takes democracy to a whole new level,” 2) “Germany seems much more about community,” and 3) Students felt Germany’s Basic Law was less ambiguous than the US Constitution and wondered if that would lead to less legal battles or political controversy.

While the original purpose of the lesson was to compare the two constitutions, I am pleased that it led to discussions about issues other than the structure of the governments. This isn’t to say Germany is some sort of utopia*; however, it does illustrate the need for American politicians to begin emphasizing human dignity in our policies.

Thanks for reading.

*Full disclosure: I was stationed in Germany for 2 1/2 years and have a deep appreciation for the German language, food, beer, and soccer (#NurSGE).